The new system gives managers real-time information on the numbers and types of calls being received, on how long it takes for calls to be answered and on which operators are taking calls at any given moment.

It also allows calls to be routed to specific operators who are knowledgeable about certain topics and city government services.

"This will be a giant enhancement for us," Customer Care Center Director Michael Radoff said. "It is more flexible and dynamic.

"Right now, for example, I can look at my computer screen and see that this morning, 78 percent of incoming calls related to refuse services are being answered within 45 seconds."
When something occurs that sparks an influx in calls, the center can manage those calls more efficiently by directing them, through a voice menu, to the operators best-equipped to handle those specific calls, Radoff said.

The conversion in the Customer Care Center is the latest part of a multiyear project, funded by a $1.3 million in third-penny sales tax money, to reduce the cost of telephone services for the city, Voice Communications Manager Ken Neal said.

Because the city now manages most of its phones with the internal, digital system, replacing the old phone network formerly provided by its phone carrier, the city spends about $380,000 less each year, he said.

Mayor Dewey Bartlett said the Customer Care Center is a focal point of the effort to create more efficiencies in city government.

"This new telephone system and its software give managers much more useful information instantaneously, so they can do what is needed to solve problems and handle citizens' calls more quickly."
Brian Barber 918-581-8322
brian.barber@tulsaworld.com
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